29.06.2010 TBI 10 Comments

Preparing for college after a traumatic brain injury

Whether a you will be attending college for the first time or re-entering after some time out due to the injury, here are some simple steps to make this new beginning less difficult.
1) Don’t be in a hurry to launch yourself into a full-time program. Discuss your plans with your therapists and test your readiness by taking a free online SAT test (see the college board website – sat.collegeboard.com/home ) – you can even take it online and have it scored automatically. Do this even if your school doesn’t require it, to give you a sense of how your skills match up to the demands of college.
2) Don’t bite off more than you can chew. You will sometimes take longer to do the work and you may need more sleep than you did before your injury. Your college may allow a reduced load without reducing your financial aid. If you are struggling, don’t hide it – talk to teachers, your support staff, family, fellow students. Get some help.
3) Level with the college staff who are trying to help you make this transition. Let them know your concerns, challenges, and hopes. If something they suggest doesn’t seem to be working for you, let them know. Don’t forget to thank them for their efforts.
4) Plan ahead and follow through. Think carefully and discuss with experts the courses you plan to take. Once you have a schedule with locations and times, take your campus map and this schedule and take a trial run, at the regular meeting time, to each class. Classrooms are sometimes not as easy to find as you would think, and you don’t want to be running around at the last minute, lost and frustrated. Write down enough information that you will be able to find the classroom the next time. Figure out transportation issues (bus schedules, parking, walking) and always allow extra time (because stuff happens).
5) Embrace technology. Record lectures; if your school doesn’t provide an alternative, try bookshare.org (available to TBI survivors for free) to hear and read materials simultaneously (better for speed, comprehension, and memory); record your own notes so you can listen to them on your MP3 player while you are walking around campus or standing in line somewhere. Use noise canceling headphones to shut out distracting noises. Online courses can provide you with more flexibility and less travel time.